Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass

The twin brothers Timothy and Stephen Quay have spent decades creating their peculiar animations of captivating micro-worlds. Their latest work is their third feature-length film, following the path paved by Street of Crocodiles (1985). Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass is also based on the novels of the Polish-Jewish writer Bruno Schulz. The Quay brothers were fascinated by Schulz’s masterful use of language and the metaphorical imagery that seemed to detach from reality. Animation provides excellent tools for visualising such imagery.

Sanatorium is divided into seven episodes, each beginning with looking through the retina of a dead eye. Jozef travels to an Eastern European sanatorium to visit his father, who is half in the realm of the dead, half alive. The story and characters seem to split in two, and the sanatorium reveals itself as a mysterious place full of misleading corridors and labyrinths.

The Quay brothers spent nineteen years making the film, animating and filming it mostly on their own to a pre-existing musical score. When Polish television joined the production, live-action segments with Polish actors were filmed. Even these transform into dreamlike unreality in the hands of the Quay duo. Seeking a logical narrative is hopeless, but the film flows according to the reasoning of dreams and the subconscious.

Eija Niskanen (translated by Kati Ilomäki)